LIHU‘E — Long-time Council Services administrator Ricky Watanabe was sworn in Tuesday at the Historic County Building as interim county clerk. He will fill the position vacated by Peter Nakamura while the county searches for a permanent replacement. After serving
LIHU‘E — Long-time Council Services administrator Ricky Watanabe was sworn in Tuesday at the Historic County Building as interim county clerk.
He will fill the position vacated by Peter Nakamura while the county searches for a permanent replacement. After serving 12 years as clerk, Nakamura started work last week as a senior planner in the county Planning Department.
“My goal in the interim is to help ensure a smooth transition so that we will continue to provide efficient service to the public and council,” said Watanabe, a 22-year veteran of Council Services.
The Kaua‘i County Council unanimously confirmed Watanabe to the position he has been filling since Nakamura’s departure Oct. 10.
A newspaper ad for the clerk position suggests the possibility of high wages with low qualifications. No college degree is required to earn a salary up to $114,848 annually. But five years of responsible administrative work and two years of experience in a county clerk’s office or similar experience providing support to a county council, board or commission is necessary.
Chair Jay Furfaro said Watanabe expressed no interest in pursuing a permanent position as County Clerk.
Some members of the community have asked why Deputy County Clerk Eddie Topenio was not appointed to replace Nakamura. Furfaro said Topenio’s primary responsibility is to oversee elections.
Despite ads in local and off-island media, Furfaro said there are a couple employees working for the council who have qualifications to take the new job opportunity.
Pay cut
Nakamura, together with the county auditor and prosecutor, was getting paid more than Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., receiving an annual salary of $114,848, or $9,570 per month. Carvalho makes $114,490 annually.
Nakamura’s new position, planner VII, will earn him $7,119 per month, or $85,428 annually, representing a pay reduction of $29,420 per year.
On Aug. 8 County Director of Personnel Services Malcolm Fernandez gave the council a fourth-quarter report of the county’s vacancies, new hires, reallocations and promotions. In the report, a planner VII position, vacant since Nov. 7 and listed as “applications being reviewed,” was posted as county-funded for $5,202 per month, or $62,424 annually.
As county spokeswoman Beth Tokioka pointed out on Tuesday, the budget for the current fiscal year shows a higher pay for the planner VII position.
Back to the
drawing board
From 1990 to 1992 Nakamura served as the county planning director.
The council on Saturday released a statement in which Nakamura said that after 12 years working in the legislative branch he felt it was time to return to his “longstanding interest” in planning.
Tokioka said Nakamura on Tuesday reiterated his previous statement as the reason to go back to the Planning Department.
Furfaro said Tuesday he wasn’t sure yet if he was allowed to disclose the salary offered to Watanabe as interim county clerk, but said he would provide an answer within a week.
Watanabe’s annual salary as Council Services administrator was $95,958, as shown in the budget of the current fiscal year.
Visit www.kauai.gov for more information.
